This review is a piece of our Great White T-Shirt Review series, in which we tested nearly two dozen plain white t-shirts to help you understand what’s on the market today. In it, we tested for qualities like fit, construction quality, fabric density, shrinkage, and see-through-ness, amongst many others.
The Dehen Heavy Duty is a Beefy tee on bovine growth hormones. This shirt is heavy and large in a way that you’d expect from a company that’s best known for their vintage motorcycle sweaters.
By The Numbers
- Fabric: 100% cotton
- Made in: USA
- Postwash Fabric Density: 1.97g/LI (Heavy)
- Postwash Total Weight: 221g
- Construction: Overlock side seams
- Postwash Measurements (inches):
- Front Length: 25
- Pit to Pit: 22
- Shoulder to Shoulder: 19
- Hem Width: 22
- Neck Width: 6
- Sleeve Length: 8.75
- Sleeve Height: 9.5
- Sizing Recommendation: Size Down
- Shrinkage: 2.39%
- Weight Loss: 4.33%
- Price Per Shirt: $45
- Available for $45 at Freeman Seattle
Fit
Gotta say, the fit here really isn’t what I’m looking for. It’s a straight fit, but is so long that it somehow has the illusion of flaring out at the hips and the sleeves flap like a late-career Peyton Manning jersey.
It’s the largest-fitting size large of the bunch, so you’re getting the most fabric, but it also looks that way. Like Michelangelo and the block of marble, there’s a good looking t-shirt in here, more cotton just needed to be chipped away.
Fabric
The knit on this tee reminds me of a pair of jeans I reviewed a while back, the Naked & Famous Heavy Soft Selvedge. N&F took their regular denim and sort of scaled it up double, so it was nearly twice as heavy, but the yarns were twice as big. That’s sort of how the Dehen seems, it’s a bigger knit with more character, but also adding to the Big Shirt experience.
The fabric also puckers and crinkles, strangely giving its thick body somewhat of a taffeta look.
Like this? Read these:
Sheerness test? What’s that? I don’t see anything here. The Dehen Heavy Duty Tee is the best option if you absolutely, positively, have something to hide on your chest.
Construction and Details
The construction quality is solid and utilitarian and feels like it will last a very long time. It’s reminiscent an old Stanley measure tape that operates perfectly, despite sitting in your garage since the Ford administration. The construction uses side seams, whereas I feel tube-knit would have been a bit truer to form. And there are a few stray fibers escaping the bounds of their overlocks.
Detail-wise, it’s fairly minimal except for a thick woven label just off the collar.
The Verdict
The Dehen Heavy Duty Tee lives up to its name but the fit seems to have fallen by the wayside. Dehen’s effort here seems to reflect making “the most shirt”, it’s the biggest, it’s the thickest, and it’s the heaviest, but that doesn’t always lead to the most comfortable results.
Cost aside, it would be the tee I’d throw on if I was going to work on a construction site. But cost included, it’s $45.
Consider if:
- You want the “most t-shirt” that American manufacturing has to offer
- You’re still getting residual checks from your role as “Miller High Life Guy” in those Errol Morris commercials
Avoid if:
- You’ve ever been called “beanpole”
Available for $45 at Freeman Seattle
As mentioned, this was just one of many other reviews of plain white tees. Have a look at the full comprehensive review including all the other t-shirts.
